


The Bottomless Sea

by Oparu



Series: The Bottomless Sea 'Verse / Dragon Outlaw Queen ficlets [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Other, Polyamory, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 23:17:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6878887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oparu/pseuds/Oparu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>OT3 domestic fic. Henry, Lily and Roland make the best of being step-siblings and Mal, Robin and Regina trying to figure out what to do when the unplanned pregnancy at the end of season 4 is Maleficent’s, not Zelena’s.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bottomless Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gotatheory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotatheory/gifts).



> end of s4 AU, no Zelena, Marian lives in Storybrooke. She and Robin were in New York for awhile, then they came home. *waves hands* I'm in it for the OT3 fluff really. Dedicated to gotatheory, for spreading the Dragon Outlaw Queen love.

“She’s being weird.”

“Who?”

“Mom.” Lily sighed over her hot chocolate. “Not that she’s usually so normal.” She waved Granny back for another shot of Irish cream. “Someday, kid, you have to try this. When it’s legal. Even almost works with your cinnamon.”

“Only almost?”

“I’m not sure how it goes with the whiskey.” She took another sip and sighed. “How’s your mom?”

“Regina?” Henry asked, waiting for Lily to nod. “You know, you could call her mom too. Having two moms is not the weirdest thing in Storybrooke.” 

“Your two moms aren’t both your biological parents.”

“Yeah, but I can’t turn into a dragon. That’s kind of a huge bonus.” 

“Says the kid who doesn’t have to learn how to not hit a cliff, or the trees, or the sea.”

“I think it’s crashing when you hit the sea.”

Lily rolls her eyes and waves Granny down for more whiskey. “Just leave it.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Henry teases and shares a wink with Granny. “So weird enough that you have more whiskey than hot chocolate now.”

“I’m really not used to having someone really care, and she really cares. She listens when I’m upset, watches TV with me, asks what books I’m reading, but you can’t just explain all of _Game of Thrones_ to someone who’s actually a dragon.”

“The books are _A Song of Ice and Fire_ ,” he corrects. 

Lily lifts her mug, clinking it against his. “Just making sure you were paying attention, little bro.”

“That’s what Emma calls Neal.”

“Well, get a real drink and we’ll talk,” Lily teases, then smirks. “I drank when I was your age.”

“I’ve tried it,” he admits, wrinkling his nose. “It’s just not that good.”

She chuckles. “Well, when you’re older and you have a few more things to forget, it takes better.” 

“You still haven’t told me about the weird.”

“Should I even be talking to you about this?” she asks, staring at him as if she’ll be able to size him up somehow. 

“Who else do you have?”

“Emma, I guess, but, I don’t know if she’ll understand it either. I don’t get it. Regina might.”

“You could ask her?” He stares at her until she shrugs. “Or ask your mom, directly. Maleficent I mean, she’ll probably tell you. She usually answers direct questions.”

“I know,” Lily says, and she sips at her whiskey again. “Maybe I’m not ready for an answer.”

“That’s different.” He pats her shoulder. “Then you should definitely talk to her.”

“Her answers tend to make my life more fucking weird-” she stopped, correcting herself. “I mean.”

“Your life is fucking weird,” Henry reminds her. “You have a dragon and an evil queen for your mothers, the savior was your best friend even though you’re full of all her darkness, and you were kidnapped by my grandparents.” 

She laughs, hitting her mug against his. “We’re trying to be friends again.”

“Yeah?”

“She's kind of the only person who gets it."

"How weird it is being here after being out there?" 

Lily shakes her head, and her eyes are dark, haunted. "Not weird, kid. Better. Even with all the magic bullshit. It's much, much better."

He puts his arm around her shoulder, half-hugging her because his sister needs that. More than anyone else he knows. 

* * *

"I'm sorry this is so complicated," Regina says, rubbing her hands together. Roland and Henry play with their boats, Henry explaining how to turn Roland's boat against the wind so it'll sail better. 

"I don't think it's overly complex," Robin answers, resting his arm around her shoulders. "You and I both have children with other women. Both of our former paramours- what was that word?"

"Exes." She has to smile, and his expression makes it so easy to forget the knot in her stomach. 

"Indeed, our exes live in town, and I think, based on what I've gathered from your television dramas, that we have very amicable relationships with them. Maleficent is entirely cordial."

"Though they're late."

Robin smirks at that. "I don't think she has the best understanding of time." 

"But it's not like they had to drive."

"Perhaps they did," he says, looking at the road. "Lily has been trying to get her more integrated into life here. You have mentioned on occasion that it would be convenient if I learned how to drive." 

"You're not a dragon." 

"That might be a benefit to driving, already understanding what it is like to move at high speeds." He swallows a chuckle, because he probably can't picture Mal driving any more than she can. 

Lily and Mal do arrive, late, soaring over the horizon and the trees in dragon form, momentarily blotting out the sun. Roland screams in glee, grabbing Henry hand and running towards them as they circle, then land. Lily shifts human first, Mal's cloud of magic lasts longer, almost as if she's struggling to drag herself into human form. 

That can't be. She must be showing off, or distracted, something. When she coalesces into her human form, for some reason she's only wearing a sleeveless blouse and trousers, even though the wind whips cold off the ocean this time of year. 

"Robin, Regina," she says, nodding a greeting. Lily smiles more easily, Mal seems, what, flushed? 

"Sorry we're late. We tried this loop thing," Lily says, demonstrating with her hands, "and as usual, I nearly went in the ocean." 

Is that why Mal isn't even wearing a shirt with long sleeves? They put a jacket on Roland this morning, and even Henry's wearing one. 

Regina leaves the bench, Robin just behind. 

"Where's Marian?" Lily asks, scooping up Roland when he runs to her, babbling about how cool it is that she's a dragon. Of course, having a dragon step-sister is the height of joy for the boy. Nothing seems to bother him. 

"Working," Robin answers, nodding his head. "She took a job at Ursula's bar. We used to run one, and she's a very good host. She sends her greetings."

"Please provide ours as well," Mal says. She nods again, taking a step back. "I'll see you later," she says to Lily. 

"Mal--"

"Forgive me, I have something that requires my attention," she says. Mal takes another step away from them, but Regina was close enough that she's sure now. Something's wrong. She's running a fever, if that's even possible. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes too bright. 

She disappears, turning into a deep red mass of smoke before she vanishes. 

"Sorry," Lily says, shuffling her feet before she spins around with Roland to make him laugh again before setting him back down. "She's been weird."

"Weird?"

"Hungry," Henry interrupts, after a glance at Lily. "Hot all the time, can dragons get sick?"

Regina stares down her son. "You knew?"

Lily takes a step closer to him, her hands in her pockets. "I needed someone to talk to."

"And you didn't come to me? Or ask your mother what was bothering her?" 

"Don't you think I tried?" she snaps back, her words sharp. "She won't tell me. She was up all night last night, thinking, worrying about something. Pacing. She told me not to worry, which just makes it worse, and her magic's off. Sometimes she can't shift, until she forces it, and sometimes it happens too fast. She almost destroyed our living room last week, and she won't talk about it. She just gets quiet."

Her voice cracks. She must have been carrying so much fear to go to Henry, to think he was the only person she could talk to. 

Regina raises her hands, ready to teleport after Maleficent. "I need to talk to her."

"Yes," Lily says, finally relaxing, clinging to the idea. "Yes, maybe she'll talk to you." 

"She has in the past," she says. Regina shuts her eyes, trying to slow the thudding of her heart. 

Robin touches her shoulder, and Lily takes the boys back to the pond and the boats, giving them time. "I'm sure she's all right."

She nods, but it doesn't mean anything. Regina's chest tightens up as if encased in lead. "Maleficent shouldn't even be alive. Maybe the magic that brought her back is wearing off, or she's reaching the end of her lifespan, maybe she's just sick, I don't know anything and that- that terrifies me."

"You care about her."

"I loved her," she says, not even holding that back. He understands. He was distraught when Marian was dying. "I might--"

"And that's all right too," he promises, kisses her forehead, then her mouth. "I wouldn't ask you not to love the mother of your child. No more than you would ask me not to care for Marian." 

She kisses him back, leaning into the steady warmth of him. She doesn't know how to tell him that Maleficent is different, than she loves her in a way Robin no longer loves Marian, and she can't put words on that. Not yet, maybe not ever, because she can't ask that of him, not on top of the whole mess of mixed families and her daughter that she's just met and yet-

He hasn't run. He's still holding her. 

"I'll be right back."

"Take care of her," Robin says, squeezing her arm. "Make sure she's all right." 

* * *

Mal's not at her house, nor sitting on the ridge in her favorite place in the woods. Regina shuts her eyes, reaching out with her magic because Maleficent is always a presence in that. Her magic beats so strongly that Regina should be able to feel her if she just concentrates. It helps that she can't take her mind off of her. Mal's all she can think of because dragons don't just get sick. If she's having trouble with her magic, something's wrong. Lily wouldn't understand, but she knows in her gut something isn't okay and the naked fear in her face pulses in Regina's stomach. 

The sea. Mal sits on the rocky shoreline, her feet in the bay. Water laps around her ankles, whispering in the cool spring sun. The sea's freezing this time of year, but Mal doesn't seem to feel it. The sun pounds down on her bare, pale arms and shoulders, but it's not warm, not warm enough to be dressed like that. 

And Mal hates being cold.

Regina stands on the rock above her, hands in her coat pockets as her smoke fades away. "What's wrong?"

"Go back to your boys," Mal says without turning around. "They'll miss you." 

"They're fine," she says. The salt spray hangs in the air, mixing with the scent of fire that always hangs around Mal. Perhaps she came here to hide. 

Mal pulls her feet from the water and hugs her knees to her chest, somehow tiny, with her golden hair gleaming in the sun. She won't look up, won't meet Regina's eyes. 

Crossing the rock to her, Regina sits beside her, staring out at the sea. "Are you dying?" 

That makes her laugh, soft and sad, and Mal shakes her head. "I thought--"

"The magic might be ending," Regina finishes, turning to look at her face. Whatever's happening, Mal's cheeks are pink, like she's sunburnt, or fever kissed. She's never seen her this way, not in all the years they've known each other. 

"I've already died once," Mal says, turning her eyes to Regina with a shy little smile. "Any time after that is more than I deserve. I've had so much already."

"But this resurrection let you meet Lily, and she's wonderful." She lifts her hand, ready to touch Mal's back, to calm her, but she hovers her hand over Mal's skin. 

"She is that." Mal reaches for her wrist and takes it, her fingers wrapping hot around Regina's. "Yes, I have a fever, but I'm not sick, and to my surprise as well as yours, I assure you, I am not dying. My magic is unblanced."

"Can I help?"

Mal's chuckle's too wet, and nearly becomes a sob. "I'm fine."

"Tell me."

Mal rests her head on her knees, studying her face. "I never thought I'd be here again."

"Alive?" 

Mal turns her eyes back to the sea without answering. "You were such a bright flame of home and magic when I was miserable back in the Enchanted Forest. You stormed into my castle and you made the world so bright, and you came back, and we- and then Lily started in a moment of unbridled joy," she pauses, her eyes wet with tears and her words thick in her throat. "I didn't think I could feel that. I didn't know it could exist, my heart could never be so light, but you, you brought me Lily." She stops, wiping her eyes and trying to stop the tears but they rush down her face, as if wanting to join the sea. "You understand that dragons are rare because we breed so poorly. Lily was a rare gift, a moment of perfection." 

"All children are," Regina reminds her, reaching for her cheek. None of this outburst makes sense. Lily's happy, content, and Storybrooke is safe. "What's wrong?"

Mal ignores the question, her hand slipping into Regina's and it's so warm. Her skin shouldn't be that warm, even as a dragon. "Lily's all I need. She's more than I ever thought I'd have, more fantastic than I ever could have imagined, and she's here." 

"So are _you_." Regina wraps her arm around her shoulders, tugging her in, because she has to hold her, has to shelter her somehow. "You're together, and you're safe, and no one's going to take her from you. She's happy here. She loves being a dragon. She's still shy, but she's so good with her brothers, Henry and Roland adore her."

"This is why you get to me," Mal whispers. She swallows, fighting back her tears to speak. "You're so stubbornly optimistic. You see the best in me."

Regina stokes back Mal's rumpled curls, wanting to take those tears. "I know things are different since Robin came back, but I still care about you and you can tell me."

Mal nods, breath shuddering in her chest. "It's different from the last time." 

Reaching for her chin the way Mal used to take hers, Regina meets her bright blue eyes. They're so vulnerable, so lost, that Mal might as well be naked. "What is?"

"I'm pregnant."

Regina's heart thuds like dragon's wings. Decades ago, in another world, Mal never told her, and she bore Lily alone, in pain and fear. Then Lily was taken, and she grew up alone. Their little girl lived a dark echo of Emma's tragic life, and that was her fault. If she'd been less gone, less twisted by revenge, perhaps they all could have had a different life. 

"It was only one night," she whispers into Mal's hair, wishing again she could stop her tears. 

"I'm sorry."

Regina kisses her temple, then her cheek, tasting her tears. "Don't apologize, don't, please." She holds her closer, letting Mal cry against her neck. "Do you want-?"

She doesn't have to finish the question, because Mal sobs her answer. They're so close, entwined together like old times. This time, she can keep her safe, find a way to hold her when she's afraid. She never had the chance to greet any of her children, never felt them move before they entered this world. Regina scorched her own womb to prevent her becoming a mother, yet she has three children, and this one, this flicker of a fourth she already loves as fiercely as the others. 

Robin will understand, and Regina's blouse is still damp when she returns home. Burdened with Mal's secret now that it is hers, she stands before him in the kitchen, listening to Henry, Roland and Lily laugh in the living room while rain drums on the windows. It came from the sea, taking the sun and chasing Mal back inside. 

She left her asleep by the fire, wrapped in a blanket even though she still complained of the heat. She'll be all right, she tries to convince herself, but the worse mean nothing. She has to be sure, has to keep her safe somehow, because even with all her power, Maleficent still needs to be protected. She's too free with her heart, especially if this is the second time she's let Regina in. 

"Maleficent told you her secret," he says, passing her the glass of whiskey. "You don't have to hide it. I saw it in your face when you returned. I don't know what it was she told you, but I sense your reluctance to entrust that knowledge to me. You don't have to tell me, Regina, but is she all right?" 

Wrapping her fingers around the glass, she sniffs it and the hint of fire only reminds her of Mal. She nods, then drinks. The whiskey burns like it's meant to. "She will be, but it's my fault."

"Your fault?" He laughs, and the warmth of his eyes heats her chest in a way the whiskey never could. "I'm afraid all the evils of the world cannot be your fault. Is she ill? I'm afraid I know little of her kind." 

Regina shoves her glass back towards him for him to fill it, and he adds some to his own and drinks with her. "In a manner of speaking, yes, but it's complicated." 

He reaches for her fingers, stroking the back of her hand, and the way he smiles at her, maybe it doesn't have to be that complicated after all. "You know your feelings for her don't have to go away because we're together. I would not want you to be untrue to your heart."

"My heart is my greatest weakness, it always has been." She leans in, kissing his cheek, then his mouth. "I love you."

"Of that, I had no doubt." He kisses her again, pulling her close. "Can you help her?"

"I think so."

"And you need to?"

"I need-" she stops herself, kissing him because she needs them both. That can't possibly occur. "That's not important."

"Regina--"

She holds his cheek, staring into his eyes. She gave her heart to him far more knowingly than she gave it to Mal, but it is theirs together in a way she did not understand until this day. "She's pregnant."

His sweet eyes grow wide. "And the child is yours?" 

"You were with Marian, and I--"

"Shhh--" he stops her confession, resting his thumb against her mouth. "Does this child make you happy?"

Of course that is what he'd ask, of all things. His heart is true, and honorable, and like her, he can't resist the possibility of loving a child, even if it is not his blood. "Yes." 

"So, how can we help her?"

"Robin."

"You love her," he says, holding her chin. "I see that, I've seen that in the weeks we've been fitting our family together. She has loved you since she met you and I find myself entirely sympathetic to that plight." 

"We can't just--"

He smiles at her. "I don't see why not. Bring her here so you can look after her, I can help. I saw Marian through with Roland, and that was not an easy time. I would not have the mother of your child be alone when perhaps between the three of us, we could make something." 

Regina kisses him, holding him tight to her. "You may not know what you're getting into."

"Most likely not," he admits, smiling. "Yet I would not trade this for the world, go, fetch the dragon and invite her here. I'll make sure dinner is something she'll enjoy." 

She rests her hand on his chest, letting his heartbeat calm her. "Thank you."

* * *

"You want me to stay here, with you?" Mal asks, staring at them both from the sofa. She looks better, less flushed now that she's eaten Robin's cooking and laughed with the children. Lily's gone to work her shift patrolling the town. Roland's long gone to bed and Henry knows when to retreat to his room with his headphones. He's growing up so fast. 

"Why would you want that?" Mal continues, looking from one to the other. "I assure you both, I am fine."

Regina shares a glance with Robin, then folds her arms. "You frightened Lily."

"She's still so new to magic, to all of this, she just doesn't understand." She leans back, and when she sighs, pulling her knees up closer, she's vulnerable again in the way that makes Regina's chest ache. 

Robin sits beside her on the sofa, placing his hand beside hers as an offering. "We would like you to stay here, with us, so that Regina can be near you and share in the joy of your child."

Mal stares at him, her eyes wide and confused. "And this doesn't bother you?"

"I'll admit that we don't know each other well," he answers, then he smiles and even Mal has to melt a little. He has that effect. "Something I'm willing to remedy."

"I've had very few friends," Mal says, shifting again on the couch. "Even fewer lovers, and Regina seems to be an unfortunate choice on my part."

Robin chuckles, and he reaches for her fingers. Mal doesn't pull away, and their hands slip together. "You don't think that."

"I do when my head hurts." 

"Is that normal?" Regina asks, moving towards the couch. "Did it happen with Lily?"

"Sometimes." Mal shuts her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together. "It wasn't this bad."

"Did your head hurt before dinner?" Robin asks, and Mal opens her eyes to look at him, confused by his concern. She anticipated Regina's, but his surprises her. 

"Most of the day." Her eyes close again and the hint of pain she's been hiding all evening creeps into her voice. "Which is why I should go home." 

"I'll go-" Robin begins, and Regina shakes her head. She touches his shoulder. 

"I'll get her something that's safe for humans, it should work on dragons too." She doesn't look back as she leaves them alone, trusting Robin to get through to Mal in the way he's always gotten through to Regina: some combination of will and gentle determination. 

When she returns with the bottle of acetaminophen and a glass of water, they're closer on the sofa, still holding hands. Mal's fingers are more entwined with his, and her expression's softer, more relaxed. 

Regina kisses her forehead, coaxing Mal's eyes open. She wrinkles her nose but smiles. 

"I think I'm beginning to see why you like him."

"Good." Regina hands her two tablets and holds up the water. "You can't have aspirin, but these should help just as well."

Mal accepts them and the water, and Robin's hand moves to her shoulder, remaining in contact. "You're fussing."

Regina smirks and sits back on the coffee table. "You did not say that I couldn't." 

"I should have." She swallows and settles back again, but this time Robin's closer, and she must be so tired that she doesn't seem to care that her head's on his shoulder. 

"I doubt Regina would listen."

"Oh I agree with you, thief," she mutters. Mal sighs again, her features still full of confusion. "I will not come between you," she insists, and starts to sit up. "I refuse."

"That is not a concern either of us has," Robin assures her, easing her back down. "I cannot speak for dragons, but I have always thought the human heart was limitless in its capacity for love. I have certainly found Regina's to be." 

"So this is more than an invitation to share your roof." Mal raises one eyebrow and her lips curl. 

"Perhaps," Regina offers, setting down the glass of water. "I wouldn't want to presume."

"You have always moved faster than fire can burn, my dear," Mal says. She reaches for Regina's hand, drawing her in as she looks from Robin to her. "And your thief keeps up with you."

Robin's smile lights his eyes like the sunset. "I try." 

Mal studies his face, as if now she needs to truly know him. Every laugh line must become part of her memory. "And I thought only Regina could storm into my heart." He leans closer, meeting her eyes before their lips touch. It's soft, almost a chaste sort of kiss but watching them drives Regina's heart back into a frenzy. 

"I think you'll find I'm very good with hearts," Robin says, his mouth still nearly touching hers. "Especially when they're given to me." 

Mal turns to Regina, her eyes wet again and shining, and Regina kisses her without Robin's gentle restraint. "Stay," she whispers. "Please." 

Kissing Robin again, then Regina, Mal traces her own lips with her finger, as if expecting some kind of magic to glimmer on her skin. 

"Yes."

 


End file.
